While Norway's white collar crime unit investigates terrorist claims against Krekar, his Norwegian attorney claims an identified contract killer is in Norway with Krekar as his target.
Krekar thus is seeking police protection, ironically just weeks after he fought to be released from police custody. The entire Krekar saga continues to take on complicated, ironic proportions as government authorities in Norway, the Netherlands, the US, Jordan and at the UN try to figure out what to do with the former self-professed guerilla leader in northern Iraq.
Krekar came to Norway more than 10 years ago as a refugee and was granted asylum status. But then he started traveling back to northern Iraq, allegedly as leader of the guerilla group Ansar al-Islam, which the US claims has had direct ties to terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
Norwegian officials ultimately ruled that Krekar's travels violated his refugee status. When terrorist suspicions entered into the picture, Krekar finally was arrested and brought back to Norway after several months in detention in the Netherlands.
His public defender, Brynjar Meling, since has launched a flurry of motions aimed at protecting Krekar, who now seems to want to remain in Norway. He faces deportation because of the alleged violation of his asylum status.
Meling made the hit-man claims this week, saying Krekar's brother-in-law already has been kidnapped back in northern Iraq. Meling claims the Kurdish group PUK fought Ansar al-Islam and now wants to eliminate the remains of its leadership.
Kurds in Norway who oppose Krekar's politics claim Krekar has fabricated the hit-man claims in an effort to retain Norwgian protection.
